Car-coupling



(N0 Modem J. E.'PORSYTH.

GAR COUPLING No. 532,045. Patented Jan. 8, 189 5.

lineman STATES PATENT @nnicsi JOSEPH E. FORSYTII, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-CO SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,045, datedJanuary 8, 1 895.

Application filed January 27, 1894- $erial No.498 205. No model.)

I To (all whom it may concern.-

thereby unlock the knuckle.

Be it known that l, JOSEPH E. FORSYTH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of-Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Couplers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of car-couplerswherein the expanded head at the protruding end of the draw-bar has ajaw pivotally attached to one side to swing horizontally to lock andunlock, and provided with a tailpiece housed in the head and engagingwith a yielding locking bar or pin suspended to extend into the path ofthe tail-piece.

My object is to improve the locking device.

According to certain constructions of the locking device known to me, alocking-pin for the tail-piece of the knuckle is suspended from the topof the coupler and protrudes through the base thereof; and it isconnected through the medium of a chain, or the like, with a rock-shafton the car adapted to be turned, from the side thereof, to swing thelower end of the locking-pin backward out of the path of the tail-pieceto release it and Thus the lower end of the locking-pin is moved, by theunlocking operation, the nearer toward the usual stationary crossbar orcarrier-iron on which the draw-bar rests near its forward end, with theundesirable consequence of quite frequent occurrence, that when thedraw-bar is forced inward by bumping, the cross-bar is struck by thelocking-pin with sufficient force to fracture the latter. I overcomethis objection by providing a locking head pivoted in the draw-bar toprotrude downward through an elongated slot in its base, and operativeto unlock by swinging the protruding end forward; my improvedconstruction presenting the further advantage of being over balanced atits upper end in front of its pivotal support, whereby it reliablyassumes, by gravity when released, its locking position with relation tothe tail-piece of the knuckle.

Referring to the accompanying drawings-- Figure l is a broken horizontalsection of a and Fig. 2 is a longitudinally vertical section of thesame.

A is the hollow draw-bar, terminating in a head B of the usual generalform thereof in the type of'car-coupler known as the tinestercar-builders. At the junction between the head and draw-bar, thus at theback of the head, and at one side, the casting is thickened as shown atr, to afford a seat which tapers backward on its inner side to the adjacent side of the draw-bar. The forward end of the thickened part 0*presents a convex protuberance q affording an abutment.

O is the knuckle comprising the head-portion 59 of usual or any suitableshape, and a tail-piece 0 extending at the required angle to thehead-portion; and between the head and the tail-piece the knuckleis'pivoted, as at w, to a side of the draw-head B, the forward end ofwhich side affords, at its upper and lower ends, shoulders 91 at theouter bases of convexly rounded bearings 77. against which fit thecorrespondingly concave-d bearings n on the knuckle. With the exceptionof the shoulders 72, the knuckle-side of the draw-head is devoid ofshoulders, its inner surface being regular throughout. The tailpiece 0is straight along its outer side, or of other form that will prevent itfrom contacting with the adjacent inner side of the drawhead; and at itsinner end itis rendered concave at q to seat over and form a bearingagainst the protuberance q, the curvatures of the parts q and qconforming to each other and being the proper distance from thepivotcenter a: to cause the inner end of the tailpiece readily to slipupon its seat till obstructed by the extension g of the tail-piece,which stops further progress thereof toward the adjacent side of thedraw-head.

D is my improved lock comprising a heavy metal head 12?. provided with astem m pivotally supported near its junction with and back of the head,as at t, in the draw-bar A, through an elongated slot Z in the base ofwhich the stem m protrudes. To brace the head m I provide at its side,in the draw-head B, a lug is. From its stem m the lock D is connected,as by a chain 21, with a crank-arm h on a rock-shaft h.

draw-bar provided with my improvement;

As shown, the knuckle is in its locked po sition, wherein it bears atthe inner end of its tail-piece 0 backward against the seat 7',

and is held against unlocking by the obstruction to the tail-pieceafforded by: the lock D, the overbalanced head on of which tends, tomaintain it in the'path of thetail-pieoe. In this position of thetail-piece it will be observed that the impact of bumping taken by thehoad-endof the knuckle is transmitted by the latter directly to'the seat1' entirelyin a rearward direction lengthwise of the drawbar, therebyrelieving the pivot-pin of the knuckle from strain of the impact.

To permit the head 1) of the knuckle G to be swung outward, foruncoupling, the shaft h is turned to swing the crank, say a quarterturn, whereby the chain pulls the stem m of the look D forward, thusfarther away from the bottom cross-bar referred to of the drawbarhousing,'so that when the draw-bar is forced inward, the stem will betoo far removed from the cross-bar to strike it and be injured thereby.The forward movement of the stem m turns the head m backward on itspivot it, thus out of the path of the tail- 7 piece andpermitting thedraft to swing outward the knuckle toruncouple. When the engagement ofthe knuckles of companion couplers forces the knuckles back into theircoupling-positions, the tail-pieces, which are formed to pass, in theirinward movement, the look-heads m by turning them backward, reachtbeseats r, when the heads m fall back into their obstructing or lookingpositions; and as will be seen, the stress of bumping is exerted throughthe: tail-pieces against the seats 0 thus lengthwise of the draw-bars,none being taken in the lateral direction against the sideof thedraw-head.

'What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

"1. Ina car-coupler, the draw-bar, draw-head and swinging knucklethereon, of a lock D for the tail-piece of the. knuckle, comprising astem m protruding through a slot Z in the base of the coupler andpivoted as at If, and a forward-overbalancing head on, the stem beingadapted for connection with an operating shaft 77110 be turned forwardin unlocking, substantially asand for the purpose set forth. V

2. In a car-coupler, the combination with the draw-bar, draw-head andswinging knuckle thereon, of a lock D for the tail-piece of the knuckle,comprising a stem m protruding through a slot Z in the baseof thecoupler, and pivoted as at t, and a'forward-overbalancing head m, thestem being adapted for connection with the operating shaft h to beturned forward in unlocking, anda bracing-stop Icon one side of thelock-head, sub stantially as andfor the purpose set forth. JOSEPH E;FORSYTH. lupresence of- M; J. Fnosr,

W. N. WILLIAMS.

the combination with i

